Catherpes mexicanus

Order

Family

Code 4

Code 6

ITIS

ILLUSTRATION

PHOTOS

CONSERVATION STATUS

The Canyon Wren is a bird species that is native to the United States, Mexico and Canada. This bird has a range of more than 4 million square kilometers. The population of the Canyon Wren is thought to be more than 600,000 individual birds. The Canyon Wren was previously evaluated as Lower Risk. Today, this bird species is rated as Least Concern due to any immediate evidence that its range or population or in danger.

SUMMARY

Overview

Canyon Wren: Medium wren with rust-brown upperparts, fine white spots on gray-brown back, nape, and crown, white throat and breast, and chestnut belly. Tail is long and brown with thin black bars. Head has a flattened appearance; bill is long, slender, and slightly decurved.

Range and Habitat

Canyon Wren: Resident from extreme southern British Columbia southward through Pacific and Rocky Mountain states to Baja California and much of the Mexican interior, eastward to southwestern South Dakota and central Texas. Preferred habitats include cliffs, canyons, rocky outcrops, and boulder piles.

Canyon Wren SONGS AND CALLS

Canyon Wren A1

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High-pitched calls from a fledged bird.

Canyon Wren A2

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Alarm calls from a female near the nest.

Similar Sounding

Voice Text

"peup, peup, peup tew tew tew tew tew mew", "jeet"

INTERESTING FACTS

Its long bill and flat head enable it to reach deep into crevices to find prey.

The Canyon Wren is not known to drink water. It probably gets all the water it needs from its insect prey. It has been seen foraging along the sides of desert springs, but not drinking.

A group of wrens has many collective nouns, including a "chime", "flight", "flock", and "herd" of wrens.

SIMILAR BIRDS

RANGE MAP NORTH AMERICA

About this North America Map

This map shows how this species is distributed across North America.

FAMILY DESCRIPTION

Wrens (Troglodytidae)

ORDER

The wrens are just one of the one hundred eighteen families of birds in the order PASSERIFORMES (pronounced pas-ser-i-FOR-meez); a large taxonomic order that includes other bird families with pleasant songs such as the thrushes, the vireos, and the mockingbirds.

FAMILY TAXONOMY

There are seventy-nine species of wrens in sixteen genera in the Troglodytidae (pronounced trog-luh-DIE-tuh-dee), a family mostly restricted to the New World.

NORTH AMERICA

Forty-six species of wrens in fourteen genera are found in North America. These include the familiar House Wren, the desert dwelling Cactus Wren, and the aptly named Rock Wren.

KNOWN FOR

The House Wren is known for its confiding, friendly behavior. This familiar bird species is well-named as it often occurs around human habitations, often building its nest under the eaves of roofs or in backyard nest boxes.

PHYSICAL

The wrens are small birds for the most part although the Cactus Wren is a medium-sized bird. The members of this family are rather plump birds with short wings, longish, strong legs and feet, and rather large heads with long, thin, slightly downcurved bills. Tail size varies from the very short as is the case in the wood-wrens, to longish as in the Cactus Wren.

COLORATION

Bright colors are not found in the plumages of wrens. Various shades of brown predominate, many species with black spots, barring or streaks. Some species also have white on the underparts, white eye-brows, or white spotting.

GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT

The Troglodytidae occur in most North American habitats except for the tundra. Most occur near the ground in the undergrowth of forests, scrub, desert vegetation, and second growth, while a few species are entirely terrestrial and frequent rocky areas.

MIGRATION

Wrens are non-migratory except for the Winter Wren, a short distance migrant from boreal forests to the southern United States.

HABITS

Most wren species are solitary birds that typically forage in pairs and do not join mixed flocks. They forage by using their bills to investigate dead leaf clusters, crevices, and various other hiding places used by the small creatures they prey upon.

CONSERVATION

No wren species are threatened in North America.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Winter Wren is the only wren species found outside of North America. In its large Eurasian range, it occurs in a wide variety of habitats and is a common garden bird that somewhat fills the niche of the House Wren. It also has one of the loudest songs for a bird of its size.